The last thing Jacob Kooran expected when he swapped India for Australia — and a master’s in business at the Australian Maritime College — was that twelve months later he’d be gearing up to play cricket in the Tasmanian premier league.

Open seas hold the promise of important resources as well as opportunities for exploration and food production. But severe weather events such as cyclones or hurricanes are more common in open waters, inducing wind velocities of up to 130 knots and creating waves up to 30 meters high.